Report on the Republic of Korea-Japan Symposium on Frailty and Sarcopenia / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

The 2022 International Conference for Global Cooperation in Traditional Medicine was held in a hybrid meeting at the Novotel Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun Hotel in Seoul on the 1st and 2nd of November 2022. This international conference was hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare of South Korea, organized by the National Institute for Korean Medicine Development, and supported by The Society of Korean Medicine. At this conference, a bilateral exchange of acupuncture and moxibustion therapies between Japan and Korea was held at the Republic of Korea-Japan Symposium I. The aims of the symposium were to combine conventional and traditional medical knowledge of frailty and sarcopenia and to share possible ideas to develop proper treatment for frailty and sarcopenia.

Report on WFAS 2022 General Assembly and Conference in Singapore / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

The World Federation of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (WFAS) General Assembly and International Conference were held online in combination with on-site administration in Singapore on 18th-20th, November 2022. Members of the new Executive Committee (the 10th EC) were elected and future host cities were discussed in the General Assembly. Activities during the 9th EC term including collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), activities in the standardization working committee, financial report and proposals from EC members were reviewed in the 9th EC meeting which was held prior to the General Assembly. In the present article, we report the results of the EC meeting and the General Assembly and key topics from the International Conference.

Acupuncture and Moxibustion in Hospitals—How have General Hospitals Changed after Introducing Acupuncture and Moxibustion in Routine Care? / 日本東洋医学雑誌

Although it is not yet common, certified Kampo (traditional Japanese medicine) doctors and acupuncturists are cooperating with each other to provide traditional medical treatment for patients in some general hospitals in Japan. In other hospitals, however, Kampo and acupuncture-moxibustion have not been introduced, and doctors only treat patients using modern Western medicine. Many doctors must already be aware that modern Western medicine is not the only approach for the treatment of patients, but they do not make any efforts to improve the situation by adopting traditional medicine. Here, we give some examples of hospitals in which acupuncture treatments are routinely provided, having a favorable effect on both patients as well as the hospitals themselves. We believe that these examples give us a good opportunity to consider the future of an ideal medical system in which modern Western medicine and traditional Japanese medicine are successfully integrated.

The Significance of New Chapter of Traditional Medicine in the Eleventh Revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-11) / 日本東洋医学雑誌

A commemorative lecture meeting on the inclusion of a new chapter of traditional medicine in ICD­-11 was held in Tokyo in February 2020. The head of the Collaborating Centre for WHO­-FIC in Japan explained the process of the project, which started in 2006 to increase WHO's data collection from developing countries and expressed gratitude to the concerned persons who made efforts to obtain consensus with China and Korea. WHO promoted integrated coding between traditional medicine and Western medicine. In the field of acu­puncture, meridian and collateral patterns proposed by Japan were adopted and research activities have begun. In the field of Kampo medicine, the prescription content is often used in a fixed form as a representative for­mula pattern in Japan, so clinically high­-level research will be possible under this new classification. In the field of medical information, it has been pointed out that there are high hurdles for medical information man­agers to understand traditional medicine. It is expected that the progress of mutual understanding of both medi­cines. From now on, activities in research, translation, education and dissemination of this new classification should be promoted.

Clinical Practice Guidelines of Acupuncture for Low Back Pain : A Comparison of those of the UK and USA / 日本東洋医学雑誌

Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common complaints of Japanese citizens, and is a symptom for which acupuncture has been applied since ancient times. We empirically recognize that acupuncture is effective for LBP, but in recent years, it became necessary to show evidence regarding its efficacy and effectiveness.Currently, to elucidate the effect of a medical intervention, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are considered the gold standard and outcomes of RCTs are integrated as a systematic review (SR), and these are used to establish the degree of recommendation in the clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). Eventually, practitioners make their clinical decisions according to the recommendations in CPGs.In this report, the author compared CPGs of acupuncture for LBP between those of the United Kingdom (UK) and United States of America (USA). The NICE guideline development group of the UK did not fully understand Japanese-style acupuncture, and they considered clinical trials with placebo/sham as a control to be the most important, leading to underestimating the effect of acupuncture. On the other hand, the ACP guideline of the USA considers clinical trials with conventional treatment as a control to be more important, and accordingly the effect of acupuncture was evaluated realistically.

Questionnaire Survey on the Usage of Acupuncture Points Among Members of the Japan Society for Oriental Medicine and those of Japan Society of Acupuncture Course in Universities / 日本東洋医学雑誌

[Objective] To clarify the utilization of characteristics and reactions of acupuncture points, and the frequency of using acupuncture points in acupuncture and moxibustion treatment in Japan.[Methods] We conducted a questionnaire survey involving members of the Japan Society for Oriental Medicine and those of the Japan Society of Acupuncture Course in Universities. The contents of the questions included age, sex, profession, length of clinical experience of acupuncture/moxibustion, treatment method, utilization of characteristics and reactions of acupuncture points, and frequency of using acupuncture points in both acupuncture and moxibustion treatment.[Results] The number of valid questionnaires was 59 (59 for acupuncture treatment and 50 for moxibustion treatment). The respondents were as follows : average age of 52 ± 12 years, 45 males and 14 females, 13 medical doctors and 46 acupuncturists, clinical experience of 21.1 ± 11.5 years. Most practitioners utilized ill ness-specific features of acupuncture points, de qi, and reactions they feel with their needling and pressing hands. Ten acupuncture points were used in 50% of patients in acupuncture treatment, and ST 36 and SP 6 were the most frequently used. On the other hand, no single acupuncture point was used in more than 50% of patients in moxibustion treatment. Thirteen acupuncture points were used in 30% of patients in moxibustion treatment, and BL 23, SP 6, and ST 36 were the most frequently used.[Conclusion] Our survey clarified the usage of acupuncture points in acupuncture and moxibustion treatment in Japan.

Academic Exchange at WFAS Turkey 2019 and Review of RCTs Conducted in China / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

The WFAS Annual Conference 2019 was held between November 14th and 17th at Kaya Palazzo Hotel, Antalya, Turkey. The WFAS executive committee was convened on the 14th. In the EC (Executive Committee) meeting, the JSAM proposed inclusion of the Declaration of Helsinki (DoH) in the WFAS Code of Ethics. Other issues discussed in the EC meeting included approval of the special consultative status by the the United Nations ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council) and preparation of the next WFAS symposium in the Netherlands in 2020. Individual presentations and other exhibitions in the symposium are also introduced in the present report. In addition, recent large-scale RCTs of acupuncture conducted in China were reviewed.

Report of the 9th, 10th Japan-Korea Workshop on Acupuncture and EBM / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

The Japan-Korea Workshop on Acupuncture and EBM is an academic exchange between the Japan Society of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (JSAM) and the Korean Acupuncture and Moxibustion Medical Society (KAMMS). The theme of the 9th and 10th Workshop was clinical practice guidelines (CPG). Three Korean and two Japanese speakers presented in the 9th Workshop held at Osaka, and two in each country did in the 10th at Jecheon, Korea. Since Korea has already developed some Korean Medicine CPGs, the present state and protocols for improvement process were reported. On the other hand, Japan has not developed such CPGs on acupuncture. The Japanese speakers therefore presented results of a survey on Japanese CPGs that include “acupuncture-moxibustion” as a treatment option and quality assessment of those CPGs. Although there are some differences on circumstances surrounding acupuncture practice between Japan and Korea, it was a good opportunity to obtain useful information for developing CPG on acupuncture in Japan and to discuss on this issue with Korean researchers preceding in this area. We reaffirmed the need for continued academic exchange between JSAM and KAAMS.

Origin of Shinshin-ichinyo in the Field of Kampo Medicine / 日本東洋医学雑誌

Shinshin-ichinyo is the concept derived from Zen Buddhism in Japan in which mind and body connect with and negate each other at the same time. Western medicine has been dealing with “organs and diseases” based on mind-­body dualism, but Oriental medicine has been dealing with “patients with disease” based on this con­cept. Psychosomatic medicine was established as holistic medicine by using this concept, and becomes popular in the field of general medicine, but it is still unclear who introduced this concept to the field of Kampo or tra­ditional Japanese medicine. Here I explored one possibility by investigating some literature.

Report on WFAS Houston 2014 / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

The WFAS Houston 2016 annual conference was held in the Royal Sonesta Hotel, Houston, Texas, USA from 31 October to 2 November 2014. The theme of the conference was "East Meets West -Shaping the Future of Healthcare", and more than 900 acupuncture practitioners and scientists participated. The number of papers presented was 216, including 6 keynote lectures. Papers from Japan numbered 11.<BR>At the Executive Committee (EC) meeting, 39 of the 76 EC members were present (10 EC members sent a letter of attorney in advance), including 3from Japan. Although Tokyo was approved as a host city of WFAS 2016 last year, we proposed changing the venue to the Tsukuba International Congress Center, which was approved.

Effects of Ontokyu (warm tube moxibustion) Medical Treatment on Young Women with Chilly Constitution (‘Hie’ Symptoms) / 日本温泉気候物理医学会雑誌

Objective: We examined the effects of ontokyu (warm tube moxibustion) medical treatment of GB33 and SP6 on young women with a chilly constitution (‘Hie’ symptoms). Methods: The subjects were 13 female university students (mean age: 20.7± 1.3years). They were assigned to either a GB33 group or an SP6 group in consideration of height for the determinate method by the discriminant analysis of Sakaguchi et al. After a one-week pre-observation period, 1 or 2 ontokyu treatments (Choan NEO, Yamasho) twice a week for four weeks were conducted. The follow-up period was two weeks. Effects of the therapy were evaluated using an original questionnaire (‘Hie’ diary), which consisted of six categorical scales of 14 symptoms and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) of the severity of ‘Hie’. Results: Three subjects dropped out before 1st week therapy among the 13 subjects, so the number of subjects in both groups became five. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in terms of age, height, weight, BMI, VAS, and total score for 14 symptoms at the baseline. There was no interaction between the groups for VAS or total score for the 14 symptoms. For both groups, no significant changes could be found in VAS during the intervention period and follow-up period compared with that during the pre-observation period. Although the total score for the 14 symptoms in both groups decreased gradually from the start of intervention for the GB33 group, it significantly decreased in after the 3rd and 4th weeks therapy compared with that in the pre-observation period. For the SP6 group, it significantly decreased in after the 4th week therapy and the 2nd week after finished therapy. For each item of the 14 symptoms, the GB33 group showed significant differences in stiff neck and shoulders and feeling thirsty when their scores between the pre-observation period and the intervention period were compared. In addition, the SP6 group showed a significant difference in stiff neck and shoulders, feeling thirsty, and nervousness when their scores between the pre-observation period and the intervention period were compared. Specifically, stiff neck and shoulders for the GB33 group was significantly reduced in the 1st and 2nd weeks after finished therapy, and feeling thirsty showed significant reduction in after the 3rd and 4th weeks therapy. On the other hand, for the SP6 group, stiff neck and shoulders significantly decreased in after the 2nd and 4th weeks therapy and the 1st and 2nd after finished therapy, as did feeling thirsty in the 4th week therapy and in the 2nd week after finished therapy, as well as becoming nervous in after the 1st, 2nd and 4th weeks therapy. Conclusion: It was suggested that ontokyu medical treatment to GB33 and SP6 for young women with a chilly constitution did not appear to exacerbate the severity of ‘Hie’ after reductions in air temperature, while improving the total score for 14 symptoms similarly.

<b>Acupuncture and Moxibustion in Hospitals—Acupuncture Practitioners Should Participate as Hospital Therapists </b> / 日本東洋医学雑誌

Acupuncture and moxibustion are not fully or well-utilized in the medical system, particularly in the hospitals of Japan. If they were more commonly practiced in hospitals, disorders and disease conditions that are not improved by modern Western medicine might be better treated. In addition, collaboration between acupuncturist and Western medical doctors would promote the research of acupuncture, moxibustion, and related techniques.<br>However, to achieve these aims, improvements in the quality of acupuncture and moxibustion education would be needed. Also, hospitals that are presently using acupuncture and moxibustion for routine treatment would have to demonstrate their usefulness and how this is contributing to patients' health.<br>Having acupuncture and moxibustion therapists (AMT), as a defined occupation in hospitals, was proposed in 1981, although this has not yet been realized. However, we believe that hospital AMTs would be necessary for the progress of acupuncture and moxibustion, as well as for national health care and the medical system in Japan.

Effects of <i>Ontokyu</i> (warm tube moxibustion) Medical Treatment on Young Women with Chilly Constitution (‘Hie’ Symptoms) / 日本温泉気候物理医学会雑誌

<b>Objective:</b> We examined the effects of <i>ontokyu</i> (warm tube moxibustion) medical treatment of GB33 and SP6 on young women with a chilly constitution (‘Hie’ symptoms).<BR><b>Methods:</b> The subjects were 13 female university students (mean age: 20.7± 1.3years). They were assigned to either a GB33 group or an SP6 group in consideration of height for the determinate method by the discriminant analysis of Sakaguchi et al. After a one-week pre-observation period, 1 or 2 <i>ontokyu </i>treatments (Choan NEO, Yamasho) twice a week for four weeks were conducted. The follow-up period was two weeks. Effects of the therapy were evaluated using an original questionnaire (‘Hie’ diary), which consisted of six categorical scales of 14 symptoms and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) of the severity of ‘Hie’.<BR><b>Results:</b> Three subjects dropped out before 1^st week therapy among the 13 subjects, so the number of subjects in both groups became five. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in terms of age, height, weight, BMI, VAS, and total score for 14 symptoms at the baseline. There was no interaction between the groups for VAS or total score for the 14 symptoms. For both groups, no significant changes could be found in VAS during the intervention period and follow-up period compared with that during the pre-observation period. Although the total score for the 14 symptoms in both groups decreased gradually from the start of intervention for the GB33 group, it significantly decreased in after the 3^rd and 4^th weeks therapy compared with that in the pre-observation period. For the SP6 group, it significantly decreased in after the 4^th week therapy and the 2^nd week after finished therapy. For each item of the 14 symptoms, the GB33 group showed significant differences in stiff neck and shoulders and feeling thirsty when their scores between the pre-observation period and the intervention period were compared. In addition, the SP6 group showed a significant difference in stiff neck and shoulders, feeling thirsty, and nervousness when their scores between the pre-observation period and the intervention period were compared. Specifically, stiff neck and shoulders for the GB33 group was significantly reduced in the 1^st and 2^nd weeks after finished therapy, and feeling thirsty showed significant reduction in after the 3^rd and 4^th weeks therapy. On the other hand, for the SP6 group, stiff neck and shoulders significantly decreased in after the 2^nd and 4^th weeks therapy and the 1^st and 2^nd after finished therapy, as did feeling thirsty in the 4^th week therapy and in the 2^nd week after finished therapy, as well as becoming nervous in after the 1^st, 2^nd and 4^th weeks therapy.<BR><b>Conclusion:</b> It was suggested that <i>ontokyu </i>medical treatment to GB33 and SP6 for young women with a chilly constitution did not appear to exacerbate the severity of ‘Hie’ after reductions in air temperature, while improving the total score for 14 symptoms similarly.

Tokyo was approved as the host city for the 2016 WFAS annual conference / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

Executive members of the World Federation of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Societies (WFAS) are elected in the general assembly (GA), which is held once every four years. In addition, member societies that will host the upcoming WFAS conferences over the next 4 years are determined in the GA. <BR>Japan hosted the 3rd World Congress of Acupuncture and Moxibustion in 1993, but has not been invited to host the WFAS annual conference for the past 20 years. In the 8 th WFAS GA held in the Sydney Convention Centre Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia on 1 November 2013, Japan was elected as the host country for the 2016 WFAS Annual Conference. Thus, the 2016 WFAS Annual Conference will be held in Tokyo, and hosted by the Japan Society of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (JSAM) and Japanese Traditional Acupuncture and Moxibustion Society (JTAMS).<BR>In the election of Executive Members, Shuichi Katai was elected as vice-president of WFAS and Ikuro Wakayama and Naoto Ishizaki were elected as executive members. The term for executive members is four years. In addition, Kiichiro Tsutani, former vice-president of WFAS, was appointed as honorable vice-president, and Yukio Kurosu, former honorable vice-president, was appointed as advisor.<BR>Academic programs were carried out for three days from 2 November 2013. In the WFAS conferences usually more than half of the papers are presented in Chinese, but in Sydney, most papers were presented in English. There were one invited lecture and 13presentations from Japan.

Acupuncture for patients with lower back pain / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

[Objective]To investigate if "Japanese acupuncture treatment"is effective for "Japanese patients with lower back pain"by reviewing randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture conducted in Japan.<BR>[Methods]Using several databases in Japan, such as Igaku Chuo Zasshi (Japana Centra Revuo Medicina) and PubMed, we searched for RCTs conducted in Japan. In addition, we collected RCTs by a manual search of 5 journals published in Japan. These included the Journal of the JSAM, Kampo Medicine, etc. Then, we examined the abstracts of all RCTs and sorted them according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. After that, we evaluated the quality of extracted RCTs by calculating Modified Jadad Quality Scores and Modified Charmers Scores. Lastly, we performed meta-analysis (MA) using Cochrane Review Manager 5.<BR>[Results]We extracted 19 RCTs. For the Modified Jadad Quality Score 2012, the highest score was 5, the lowest was 1, and the average was 3.5. For the Modified Charmers Score, RCTs with scores over 50 numbered only two, and the average score was 34. In addition, we performed three subgroup meta-analyses:(1) MA of five RCTs, to compare the effect of a retained needle technique with that of sham acupuncture evaluated by a visual analogue scale;VAS (standardized mean difference:SMD -1.79 [95%CI -2.89, -0.69];P = 0.001), (2) MA of three RCTs to compare the effect of retained needle with that of sham acupuncture, evaluated with the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire;RMDQ (SMD -1.23[95%CI -2.07, -0.38];P = 0.004), and (3) MA of three RCTs to compare the effect of a sparrow-pecking technique with that of sham acupuncture, evaluated by VAS (SMD -0.49 [95%CI -0.98, -0.00];P = 0.05). The results revealed the superiority of real over sham acupuncture for all three subgroup MA.<BR>[Conclusion]Our results demonstrated that evaluations with Modified Jadad Scores were relatively high, but those with an advanced method using Modified Charmers Scores were not satisfactory, indicating a need for further improvement regarding the quality of clinical trials. Although MA revealed that real acupuncture was more effective than sham acupuncture, the RCTs that we extracted in this study were conducted by very few researchers, suggesting the possibility of bias. Therefore, more clinical trials by a variety of researchers are needed to confirm the effectiveness of acupuncture for LBP in Japan.

Report of 2012 WFAS International Congress and Workshop on Acupuncture / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

The 2012 WFAS International Congress and Workshop on Acupuncture were held at Mason Pines Hotel in Bandung, Indonesia on November 16-18, 2012. The last congress held in Indonesia was in 2006 in Bali. This was the second congress held in Indonesia since the establishment of the WFAS in 1987. <BR>The number of participants in the workshop and in the congress were 109 and 260, respectively, from 24 countries. There were seven keynote lectures and 51 oral presentations, including 5 by Japanese scientists.<BR>In addition, the 4th session of the 7th Executive Committee of WFAS was held on November 16, 2012 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Mason Pines Hotel.<BR>In this report, the agenda, a discussion of the WFAS Executive Committee meeting, and an outline of the oral presentations are introduced.

Report on WFAS 2010 International Acupuncture Conference in the US / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

The World Federation of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Societies (WFAS) 2010 International Acupuncture Conference was held in San Francisco USA on November 6 - 7, 2010. The theme was "Acupuncture Research, Education and Clinical Practice."<BR>At the conference, the Society for Acupuncture Research (SAR), which was one of the organizers of the NIH Consensus Conference 1997, was one of the co-sponsors and also the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) presented as one of the keynote speakers. <BR>In recent years the international standardization of acupuncture related issues are moving to the forefront. WFAS is developing various standardization drafts related to acupuncture, starting with acupuncture needle regulations, which appear to be acting as a working unit of mainly Chinese ideas. WFAS has a plan to settle them as world standards through ISO, etc. However, the process of developing standard drafts does not appear democratic or fair. WFAS is indeed not democratically organized as inaccurate minutes for the executive committee meeting held at the conference contain crucial differences between the English version and the Chinese version.<BR>We need to correspond firmly to WFAS that has a formal relationship with WHO and acts high-handedly, as it leads to obstruction of fair recognition and further development of a variety of acupuncture and moxibustion medicine that has been developed in diversity in each country.

Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine by Intractable Neurodegenerative Patients and Caregivers / 日本補完代替医療学会誌

<b>Objective:</b> We aimed to characterize patterns of use of complementary and alternative (CAM) therapies on patients with intractable neurodegenerative diseases and their caregivers.<br> <b>Methods:</b> We sent questionnaires to 1,406 patients with subacute myelo-optico-neuropathy (SMON), amyotorophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson’s disease (PD), Parkinson related disease, or spino-cerebellar degeneration (SCD). We also send questionnaires to the 1,406 caregivers of these patients. The participants were asked to answer questions about current use of Annma/Massage/Shiatu, acupuncture, Zyudoseifuku, Chinese medicine or Supplementary food. Other questions including reasons for the use, subjective effectiveness of the CAM and subjective wellness were also asked.<br> <b>Results:</b> 33.7% of patients and 30% of caregivers responded to the questionnaires. Anna/Massage/Shiatu and Chinese medicine were most frequently used by patients (60.8%), and 51.3% of them answered that these therapies were effective. The caregiver’s response showed supplementary food and Anna/Massage/Shiatu were most frequently used (42.5%), and 35.9% of them answered that these were effective.<br> <b>Conclusion:</b> The present study showed that use of CAM was 20.5% in patients with intractable neurodegenerative diseases and 9.8% among caregivers when calculated using collection rates. Annma/Massage/Shiatu was most frequently used and was regarded effective on subjective wellness both in the patients and caregivers.<br>

Report on an international symposium for developing acupuncture standard of WFAS (18 May 2010, Beijing, China) / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

An International Symposium for Developing an Acupuncture Standard of WFAS was held at the WFAS Office Building in Beijing on 18 May 2010. The aim of this meeting was to make the WFAS Industry Standard and to further develop the International Standard of Acupuncture and Moxibustion.<BR>JSAM dispatched two representatives to the meeting as informal observers. The reason why JSAM did not send representatives formally is that there was a serious discrepancy regarding the resolution of the EC meeting between WFAS and JSAM. However, after the several discussions with WFAS, JSAM eventually decided to send informal representatives who have a right to speak. JSAM presented the necessary information about Japanese moxibustion as well as its techniques.

Report of 2009 WFAS University Cooperation Working Committee and WFAS Standard Working Committee / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

The WFAS University Cooperation Working Committee and WFAS Standard Working Committee were held during 2009 WFAS World Acupuncture Congress at European Parliament in Strasbourg, France on 6 November 2009. Publishing an International Textbook of Acupuncture and Moxibustion was proposed in the WFAS University Cooperation Working Committee. Also establishing Making WFAS standards on acupuncture needles, nomenclature and location of auricular points, manipulation of moxibustion, and manipulation of scalp acupuncture were discussed and proposed in the WFAS Standard Working Committee.